Hans D. posted an article on A Country Doctor Writes: - Dec 6, 2009, 8:35 pm
I said no when Nora Williams asked me to order a CA 125 blood test the other day. She is worried about ovarian cancer, not because of any family history, but because she, in her own words, just has th...
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Hans D. posted an article on A Country Doctor Writes: - Nov 26, 2009, 12:01 pm
Several patients Wednesday made me reflect on how fortunate I am to be doing what I do for a living. There was the young man with chest pain, skin problems and unusually long fingers. Could it be tha...
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Hans D. posted an article on A Country Doctor Writes: - Nov 21, 2009, 9:45 pm
Can you imagine a doctor telling a heart attack survivor: “That was a close call, but I’m glad you made it. I’ll see you next time you have one. Oh, by the way, you might want to watch that cho...
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Hans D. posted an article on A Country Doctor Writes: - Nov 12, 2009, 8:25 pm
Mrs. Jarvis seemed almost exasperated with my questions. She had told me all her symptoms a couple of times and I had asked several follow-up questions. Between our first and second visit she had gone...
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Hans D. posted an article on A Country Doctor Writes: - Nov 8, 2009, 9:19 pm
Last week I saw an elderly woman whose daughter brought her in with a long list of symptoms, including palpitations, chest pain, fatigue, forgetfulness, dizziness, headaches, chronic leg swelling, abd...
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Hans D. posted an article on A Country Doctor Writes: - Oct 26, 2009, 9:44 pm
“I don’t know if you understand, Doc, what kind of man this is.” The man who spoke appeared to be a few years my junior. He was speaking of his father, who is one of my patients at the local Ve...
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Hans D. posted an article on A Country Doctor Writes: - Oct 18, 2009, 4:18 pm
Why would a toothache bring Ted Larson to the emergency room when he already takes half a dozen morphine tablets per day for his chronic back pain? Why did Bridget Hall’s fibromyalgia pain seem to ...
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Hans D. posted an article on A Country Doctor Writes: - Oct 12, 2009, 8:45 pm
Dinner conversations in medical families can be less than ordinary. Tonight we were talking about how to choose antidepressants for different types of patients. My wife, who worked side by side with m...
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Hans D. posted an article on A Country Doctor Writes: - Oct 5, 2009, 10:49 pm
Working with students always makes you think about why you do certain things the way you do them and why you may feel more strongly about some things than others. Today, in talking with one of my stu...
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Hans D. posted an article on A Country Doctor Writes: - Sep 27, 2009, 6:20 pm
Emily Green knew there was a lump in her right breast. She was a new patient I saw a few weeks ago. Her previous doctor had sent her for a mammogram last year, but she had not come in for a clinical b...
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Hans D. posted an article on A Country Doctor Writes: - Sep 12, 2009, 10:07 pm
Yesterday afternoon I sat in a dark room with a couple of doctors and several mental health professionals and participated in a video conference about integration of primary care and behavioral health...
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Hans D. posted an article on A Country Doctor Writes: - Sep 1, 2009, 6:22 pm
Mrs. McCann greeted me at the door. “Thank you for coming”, she said in a hushed voice. “Gerry thinks I’m a worry-wart, but I’d feel better if you looked him over again. He sounds a little c...
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Hans D. posted an article on A Country Doctor Writes: - Aug 18, 2009, 2:32 am
This summer I have been a doctor for thirty years, and I just realized I missed the anniversary of my medical school graduation. Actually, it almost seems fitting that I did, because of how it all hap...
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Hans D. posted an article on A Country Doctor Writes: - Aug 2, 2009, 9:34 pm
  My mother, who lives in Sweden, has been suffering from gout again. It has been a few years since her last attack. She told me on the phone this morning that the medicine her family doctor prescri...
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Hans D. posted an article on A Country Doctor Writes: - Jul 22, 2009, 7:29 pm
Last week’s New England Journal of Medicine reports on a study of 162 people with one parent affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Half the study participants were told the results of genetics testing ...
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Hans D. posted an article on A Country Doctor Writes: - Jul 19, 2009, 8:00 pm
Just a quick note to wish you a Happy Birthday. I appreciate all you have done for me over the past fifteen months. I remember thinking I was just run down and fighting mono or something similar when...
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Hans D. posted an article on A Country Doctor Writes: - Jul 7, 2009, 8:27 pm
Twenty-four hours ago, as my wife and I finished supper, I told her I wanted to change from my work clothes into my barn clothes and join her as she fed the horses their evening meal. We had spent a r...
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